What would you do if...you bought a doll that had been stolen?

I'd probably give it back to its owner, feeling embarassed for some strange reason. I'd tell them if I changed anything on the doll, give them back the stuff that came with it, and discuss with them about the seller (try to convince them I hadn't stolen the doll myself).

 

I have re read what I wrote in this thread some time ago, and I can see how my statement have upset people. To blame the people who had their dolls stole was bad of me, I didn't really thought that one through. But in some way I still think that you was not paying enough attention if you got your doll stolen at the bus or so. If it's an armed robbery, well of course.

I also think it's very hard to be 120% sure that the doll I just bought is the same doll that was stolen from someone els just some moth ago. How can the former owner convince me that if the doll I bought is wiped clean and blank with no extra stuff, just a plain bland doll? It would be very hard to prove that it's the same doll, and I would not just give an expensive doll back to a person I don't know and can't give me 100% proof that it's the same doll. That person wanting the doll back can be imposer, just trying to scam people into give them a free doll. Just because you have the paper that you bought a delf Lishe, and the Lishe I just home is paperless, does not mean that it's the same doll.

Then, we have another major issue here. International marketplace. It means that the doll that was stolen in USA can end up i Europe or Asia,and then it would not be that easy to bring in police and all other stuff. Then it hit an whole new level. Cars and clothes and stuff get stolen around the world all the time and sold on other countries, without the police being able to do much, since it's different laws in different countries. I think this is a big problem. Even if the US laws are clear and the US police works great with thefts, chasing a doll half around the world is an entirely different question. At least I think it is.

And if I got my doll stolen, I would not think I will ever see that doll again. Since I know that if it gets sold over seas, there is not much to do about it. In the same way I don't think I will get my computer back if it was stolen. I would check the marketplace both here and in my local community, but then again, how can I prove that the doll for sale/in someones gallery is my doll if they have changed the face up/blushing/clothes?

I think it is really hard to prove the ownership on a doll, unless it's a very special face up or comes with very one of a kind clothes/items, and the doll is shown/sold in that exact items/clothes/face up/hair. Then you can claim it to be yours, if you have a good picture documentation of the doll in your possession. But if the doll have been altered with, it's very hard to say.

 

Well hate me for saying this but I'd have a big problem with loosing my money If I returned the doll. I'm on a tight budget and money is important to me. I have to work hard and save for things I want. It wouldn't be my fault If I bought a stolen doll because I had no idea it was stolen in the first place. Here's what I would do, if I found out the doll I bought was stolen find the original owner and contact them. Tell them my situation. I wouldn't ask them for money but maybe we could come up with some kind of plan. Possibly sue the person who sold the stolen doll, if bought through Paypal which I always use. I'd contact them. If bought with a credit card or bank Its possible they might be able to help in some way. It would be okay if the doll was a couple hundred dollars, I would have no problem returning it but thousands of dollars? I'm being realistic here. I think in this situation both sides need to come to an understanding and work out something. Its neither persons fault. Nobody should be out of their money and a doll.

 

See this is what I don't understand, why does there need to be some kind of understanding between two sides? The person who had their doll stolen didn't do anything to you, and isn't responsible for you accidentally purchasing a stolen doll. They aren't responsible for the fact that you may lose money. In a perfect world no one would be out of money, and the thief would be prosecuted, but it isn't a perfect world.

There is always some risk in buying second hand -- the only way to really protect yourself from scammers is to buy direct from a company with a very good reputation. Now, I opt for the risk, because the benefits I've had from the secondhand market have outweighed the small chance I could get screwed over by someone. However, one of these days someone could get me. Maybe the doll will be stolen, maybe they won't send it, maybe they will misrepresent the item. In all those scenarios, there's a chance that I won't get my money back. It's up to the individual to decide whether or not they are willing to take the risk. But if they are, they should be willing accept the fact that they may be out of money, and it isn't a fellow victim's responsibility to make sure you get it back.

Working with the original owner to try and track down the thief is absolutely fine, but you do have to be realistic about the situation. The original owner is not responsible for fixing your monetary woes whether you're out $100 or $1000.

 

lajvIo,you've gone on a tangent that isn't really applicable to the question the OP posed. The question was simple and it makes the assumption that you already know that the doll purchased was stolen no matter if or how it was proven.

I understand the point you're making but that wasn't what was asked.

Honestly, I'm going to say if the original owner has done everything they needed to do to ensure all of the proper legal aspects have been covered (i.e. filed police reports, made the proper inquiries etc.) I would return the doll immediately and file whatever legal actions I needed to recover my own money. However, as harsh as it may seem, if I felt that the original owner did not do what they needed to do I would probably attempt to recover my money before returning the doll.

But I don't foresee having such an issue as I don't purchase dolls on the marketplace much (or ebay at all) and when I do I usually make an attempt to follow the chain of custody back at least 2 or three owners and back to a box opening if possible.

 

The loss of money would really hurt. But I would totally contact the owner, report the seller and work it out from there. I would try to recoup some of the money, but maybe the original owner and I could work something out that's a lot less than the original cost of the doll. I'd be willing to take a financial hit on something like this, but I'd probably ask for some money or some sort of trade.

 

lajvIo, your post makes sense in the context of being unsure if the doll you purchased was actually stolen and the person who came forth is the actual owner. However, the question up for discussion here makes the assumption that you are 100% sure that the doll was stolen.

To me, it wouldn't matter how much I paid for the doll. If I found out that it's stolen and the rightful owner was found, I would give the doll back. Of course, I would try to recoup my money from the person who swindled me, but, ultimately, my issue would be with the scammer who sold me stolen goods. If I never recover my money, then it's too bad for me - I learned a valuable, expensive lesson. Because I don't want to end up in a situation like this, and for other reasons, I do not buy dolls on the secondary market. This means that I will never be able to get discontinued dolls, but I'm fine with that.

Edited to add that by "give the doll back" I meant go through proper legal channels to return the doll. Since the doll I purchased is stolen, I would have to take it to the police and file a report.

 

I would definitely contact the original owner and see if we can work something out. I believe that's the right thing to do. Though I guess it's also because something similar happened to me, though in my case it wasn't a stolen doll. I bought a couple of anime figures from a store but they never arrived. Around 1 and 1/2 months later, I found someone on a site I frequented posting about how he received free items from the same store I purchased from . And those items were the exact ones I purchased. Talk about small world. I knew right away the store must have mixed up my address with that other person. Those figures were over $300, and the store is known to never give away any freebies, so it didn't make sense that they would send him over $300 worth of stuff out of the blue like that. The guy also didn't know the reason why they sent those figures to him, only speculating that maybe because they knew he was a good customer and decided to give him a treat. I tried to contact the store and asked them to look into it, but the store refused to. They did confirm with me that they never send freebies to customers. ^^;; I then contacted the guy hoping that he would help contact the store with me but he ignored all my messages. In the end, I never did get those figures I purchased. At the time I contacted the guy, I no longer care if I could get those figures back, only hoping the guy would contact the store and let them know they did indeed make a mistake, since they refused to believe me.

My situation might not be so similar, but I think, like me, the owner would appreciate any news regarding their doll. And having such thing happened to me, I would contact the owner and let them know.

 

I am sorry for your bad experience - but I don't think what the guy did is the same as buying a stolen doll.

The guy didn't purchase anything willingly, he had no hint at all that the adress was mixed up until you contacted him, so he had all reasons to think that the company did send him the figurines for free. And from what I know, unless the company tells him they send the figurines accidentally and want them back, he does nothing against the law keeping them.

In a case of buying the stolen doll, you already commit a criminal act (buying stolen goods) unknowingly and are actually doing wrong according to the law if you don't report it to the police or return it to the rightful owner.

In my opinion, the real "bad guy" (and not according to the criminal law, it is rather the realm of civil/private law here) in your case is the company. They are the ones who didn't fulfill their part of the contract - because the contract in your case included sending the sold items to the correct address. They are the ones who should contact the guy to get the figurines back or at least to confirm that what he got were exactly the items of your order, so that they have a proof for what you say is true. And they should send you similar figurines to correct their mistake. And if I were you, I would either try to get your money back through PayPal or your bank/credit bank, or just never buy from them again, because this is not an acceptable way to treat a customer.

 

Dollblue: Reading back, it is indeed not the same. Though because of this incident, I can relate and believe that the one who bought the stolen doll should at least contact the original owner. I think we would feel appreciative even if the other person doesn't want to return due to the money they spent in getting the doll. And if I'm in the same situation, if I purchased the doll, I would contact the original owner.

As for the person that ended with my figures, the reasons he gave were..ridiculous. Lots of people questioned when he made the post because we all knew the store never give away freebies, and for such high valued figures. The reason he gave was because the items (that he ended up with) were bought by using stolen credit cards. The store didn't know who they should send the figures to but since they already received the payment, they decided to just pick one of their "good" customers randomly and sent those to them. And I forgot to mention that those figures were very rare. The reason I knew those figures were mine is because this store is not like your normal store. They sell only second handed goods, and lots of they were rare, past releases. They usually only have one or two of the same items, and they would list on the website if they have the item in stock. The figures that I bought, they only had one of each at the time, and they were very rare, and for all three to end up with the person, I knew those were the ones I purchased.

But you're right, instead of that person, the store is the one I should blame. And I did, but there was nothing I could do as it already passed the day to file a Paypal claim. But I think if it was me who ended up with those "freebies" , I would first questioned, and would contact the store about it.

 

It's hard to say what I would do if I was in this situation, given that it's something I've yet to experience. The right thing to do would probably be to contact the owner and give him/her back the doll.
However, I don't think I'd just give back the doll without getting most of my money back in some way or another first. It sounds selfish, but honestly, I think deep-down that many here, even of those who don't want to admit it, would think/act likewise if caught in the situation.

I mean, assume you're a poor student, or at least not wealthy, and have saved up for a long time for this doll. When you've bought it, you find out that it's stolen, and it's assumed you'll give it right back to its rightful owner. I know I'm not so much of a saint as to give it right back and losing all my money. If it was just a couple of hundred dollars (maximum $500), I might, but what if it cost me a lot, maybe even a thousand dollars or two? At least with my current economy, I couldn't afford to throw that money away.

Mind that before I would find something of what I've written below to apply, I would have tried my very best to get the money back from the thief, aka the seller, and I would expect anyone to do the same. However, in the case of stolen trifles (even though I wouldn't see it as such, practically speaking the doll would be classified as a trifle) that's not very likely. Usually, and sadly, the seller gets away with it.

As some have said, you can't be sure that you don't buy a stolen doll if you buy secondhand, and therefore you have an obligation, or it would at least be common courtesy to give it back. True, the original owner can't take responsibility for you accidentally purchasing a stolen doll. But then again, you can't take responsibility for it being stolen in the first place. Usually things like this get stolen in a moment of the owner acting careless. Isn't it in this case the owner's responsibility to look after his/her things? I'm not saying the owner is at fault here, or that it is his/her fault it's been stolen, because everyone do act careless at times. But no more is it your fault that the doll you bought is stolen, and I do believe, as riceballl said, that the two parties must come to an understanding.

Personally, as mentioned, I wouldn't just give the doll back without any monetary compensation, but then again, if it was my doll that was stolen, I wouldn't expect that of the unfortunate buyer either. My dolls mean a lot to me, and I would try to get it back, but rather than asking for the buyer to give the doll straight back to me, I would pay him/her back the money they bought it for, to get my doll back. This would be because ultimately, if I was careless and got robbed, as is the most likely case in a scenario like this, I would see myself at fault, because I was the one who didn't pay enough attention or be careful enough with my things in the first place. Therefore, it wouldn't feel right if the buyer lost all his/her money.

 

I would contact the original "true" owner, and I would get the police involved. I'm not sure the limit, but over a certain amount police in different countries and regions will work together. My main reason for getting them involved would be to have a record. Also, if a doll was stolen, there should be a police report, and from what I've read I could turn over the stolen goods to my local police and have them send it on back to the investigating police force and eventually the true owner. That's better than being out the price of shipping on top of the price of the doll.

[Unfortunately, if the original owner had not filed a police report and had only posted online about the doll being stolen, I have to say I would not return it without A LOT of proof that it was theirs. This would include me asking the seller for proof that they were the true owner. If your doll is stolen and you don't care enough to make a report, that just seems sketchy. Anyone could sell a doll, then claim it was stolen. ]

As far as getting money back, you can open a dispute with the charge being "item not received as described" because the doll was described as belonging to the seller when that is not the case. I googled stolen items bought through paypal, and this method seems to work, at least when you're within the 45 day time limit and the seller is oblivious enough to not empty their account right away.

 

It's true that hypothetical situations are not necessarily the same as living through an experience. However... there isn't really grey area to this. It's not only unethical to not get the doll back to the owner, but it's illegal. When you knowingly keep stolen goods, you are breaking the law. If it should come out that you did this, it also ruins your reputation with the doll community. I can't imagine feeling at all comfortable keeping something that I knew was stolen, and it seems that a lot of people feel the same way,

It doesn't matter. What about the original owner? Didn't they lose out monetarily when the doll was stolen? What makes the buyer's situation worse than that? And more importantly, no matter how bad it sucks, you never truly owned the doll to begin with and have no right to keep it. Since you could afford to spend the money on a luxury item, then it won't actually kill you to lose it, either. It maybe painful but life will go on.

Yes. this is unfortunately true, and why people have to understand that there is risk involved in the buying and selling that goes on. That's part of the way things work, unfortunately.

The owner doesn't have to be careless to lose the doll -- you are very close to victim blaming, here. And anyway you look at it, it is not their fault that you bought stolen property. The doll is not really yours and you are legally obligated to not keep it. The original owner owes the buyer absolutely nothing. They may seek to offer some kind of help to the buyer out of the goodness of their hearts, but you don't have the right to expect it of them. It should never never be a reason to not give a doll back to the rightful owner. While I can understand the turmoil a buyer would feel when caught in that situation, I admittedly find it a bit mind boggling that people wouldn't seek to do what is so very obviously the right thing. Holding on to the doll, or expecting something back from the original owner is really wrong.

It's nice that you are consistent, but that is illegal. How on earth could you think that the old owner should pay you the cost of the doll therefore buying the doll twice?!

It doesn't matter. Stolen property is stolen property, and as I said before, people can be very careful and still end up with stuff stolen. The original owner is a victim too, to make them suffer more by demanding money back is really not ok.

 

I appreciate the life of a poor, struggling college student, since I was one not too long ago. However, if the hypothetical poor college student just spent a large sum of money on a toy, then the said college student is not 'poor' in my book. There are working families, long out of college, who cannot afford anything but the necessities. If the student in question took out money from books/tuition/food/rent to buy the doll, then the student is being extremely irresponsible to begin with. Point being, there is a risk one takes when buying on the secondary market (heck, sometimes even through legit companies), and that risk is there no matter who you are - student or not.

But you really are saying that the owner is at fault, at least on some level. I had a doll stolen from my mother's house when my mother had a group of friends/acquaintances over. Is it my mother's fault that she didn't police every room/closet in the house when people she trusted were visiting? The fact is bad things, like theft, sometimes happen no matter how careful or vigilant one is. Yes, you should protect your valuables to the best of your ability, but regardless of how theft happens, it's the thief who is to blame for the crime, not the victim.

As Taco has already mentioned, there is no grey area in the hypothetical situation presented by the OP. Possession of stolen goods is a crime in many countries. Ultimately, no matter how much it will sting to loose a good chunk of your fun money, it is against the law to knowingly keep a stolen item.

 

Taco:
First off, I'll admit I do not have that much knowledge about the law. I know basic things about what's legal and what's not, but I do not know everything, and what applies for every country. Thinking more closely about it, I seem to recall having heard that you can get all the money back from the state or an insurance company here, if you have purchase documentation and documentation that someone else actually owned what you bought. Problem solved.
But I did not write this thinking about any other law in mind that stealing the doll in the first place was wrong, nor did I write it with the doll community in mind. None of my friends are bound by the doll community, and I can't let my reputation keep me from voicing my opinion.
I never said I would keep it though. It's here "It's hard to say what I would do if I was in this situation," plays a part, 'cause really, I don't know. I did say I wouldn't just hand it over immediately, yes, but I never said I would keep it either, because here I agree with you, I WOULD feel uncomfortable about that. Frankly, I don't know what I would do, and therefore I now have two conflicting statements.

The owner lost out, true, and I'm not saying that's not bad, but how's that any worse than the buyer losing out? You say I border on victim blaming here, but fact is, we have two victims in this situation. The buyer is a victim too. I tried not accusing any one of them, even if it might have seemed I bordered on blaming the original owner. That's because if it was my doll stolen, I would blame myself and the thief, never the buyer, and I try as best I can to put myself into this situation, therefore it turned out as it did. You however, are clearly saying that the buyer is more at fault than the original owner. How is that any less victim blaming?
That aside, the only way mine could be lost is either carelessness or a direct robbery, either by breaking into the house or any other way that could happen, and seriously, I don't think anyone would point a gun to my head to demand my doll. When I take my dolls out, I'm always with a lot of friends, so there's no way an unarmed robbery could have happened. In the robbery/breaking into house case though, the insurance here covers the dolls' worth, so that way the buyer could get his/her money back and everyone's happy. In the carelessness-case, no matter how you see it, it's actually your own fault you lost it. I've been there, done that (not with a doll though), and no, it was not pleasant, but it was me who was careless, thus I would say it was me who was at fault.
If everyone did the right thing in every single situation, we would not have this situation in the first place, and believe me, not everybody does the right thing. Hypothetically speaking, I would say yes, I'd give it back at once, but I'm trying my best to be realistic here. I do believe that deep down, there are many here who would do exactly what I think I would do in this situation, but if you're not caught in the situation, how could you tell how you'd act?

I would pay the cost, because as mentioned, if it wasn't a situation where the money would be covered by the insurance, it would be a situation I'd tangled myself up in all on my own, thus finding myself more at fault than the buyer. Yes, you clearly don't agree with my way of thinking, but the fact is, everyone has their own sense of justice, and this is where I stand.

And as said, we do have two victims here, not just one. That's why they actually need to talk this over in this situation, because not one of them could be so selfish as to demand that the other one be the only one to suffer.

I do understand that we have different opinions, and it's a difficult topic. I might not fully understand your reasoning, and you may not fully understand mine, but I'll stand my ground, even if you do not fully respect my views.

 

Here it's talk about, even if you are poor, saving up for something for a long time. Even if you're poor, you can afford one luxury item if you put aside a little money for a long while. That's why I said saving up.
I agree that the risk is there, but I do not think the buyer is entirely at fault, as mentioned.

I might have seemed to be blaming the original owner. I did not intend to, but if it was me in that situation, I would blame myself, therefore it might seem that way. As it happens, my mother/father never has more than two-three friends over at a time, and my parents stick so close to them that there is no clear way I could see that happen. I've never seen any of them bring any bags either, so how they would be able to smuggle out the doll is beyond me. And if this should happen, knowing my parents, they would feel at fault and pay me the money back. Otherwise, we do have family visits, but I can't see any of them stealing the doll, no matter how much they wanted it. And when I have friends over, we always stay in my room and I follow them to the door.
Yes, it is the thief that is to blame, but in this situation, we have two victims, and as I see it, you're putting all blame on only one of them.

Yeah, I get that now, and I didn't think about that when I wrote it, but as mentioned, I remember hearing something about that if you can prove that the item you bought is stolen, you can get the money back from the state or an insurance company. I can't be sure though, but I know that rules about stuff like that are vastly different here from in the states.

 

I'm just thinking, how veryvery sad I'd be if someone stole my doll...and how frustrated I would be to see someone else have it. I'd think immiedietly that the owner had stolen it...

 

Sure. People can save up to buy what they want in most circumstances - for some, it will take longer than for others. But, my point is that just because it took someone a long time to save up for a toy, doesn't make them above the law when it comes to buying stolen goods. My point was that it's very unfortunate when it happens to anyone, no matter the financial situation.

I am very glad that you never had someone you trusted betray you - that's very fortunate for you and your family. Again, I am unsure how one can justify blaming a theft victim, regardless of circumstances. I suppose if my mother labeled my doll "please take me", then I'd have to wonder what she was thinking. Please understand, I described a real situation, not a hypothetical one. My doll was actually stolen during the scenario I described. The people visiting stayed at my mother's house for the weekend. I guess she should have watched them in their rooms as they slept, and generally followed them around. Oh, and probably, she should have checked their suitcases, too, when they left. Yep, she sure dropped the ball on that one.

Sometimes the people you trust - friends or family - do things that you do not expect them to do, like steal, cheat or otherwise hurt you. It's not your fault when that happens. It's life.

Who am I putting blame on besides the thief? Quoting myself from post above: "regardless of how theft happens, it's the thief who is to blame for the crime, not the victim."

When a thief steals your doll - you are the victim.
When a thief sells you a stolen doll - you are the victim.

Yes, there are two victims. And, as I said, it's the thief who is to blame for the crime. Unfortunately, even though you bought a stolen doll unknowingly, once you find out that it is stolen, you have certain responsibilities dictated by law. It doesn't make you any less of a victim, it just means that there are appropriate actions you must take in this situation to protect yourself and to do the right thing.

 

Anna:

I do find myself agreeing with most of what you say. Keep in mind that the buyer/original owner I projected into my first post are both "me", so that is only what I would do, what my sense of justice tells me is right. My sense of justice doesn't always follow the law, but I expect the "buyer"-me to follow the same rules as the "original owner"-me would follow.

As it happens, my mom or dad doesn't have people sleeping over, and if they did, the guests wouldn't sleep in my room (where the dolls are), because I'm home every weekend they're home, and most weekends they're not home too (that's what school does to you), so that's not something that could happen here.
I feel really sorry that you lost a doll though ;_; I do agree that must be a most terrible experience. As it is, I have had things stolen from me in a similar way, when I was younger, and at a total those things cost a couple hundred dollars, but that was my own fault. I was bringing some playthings (okay, many) over to a friend who wasn't entirely reliable, and my parents told me to not leave the things when I was moving to another room in her house, because they knew how she was. Well, I ended up leaving them on her bedroom floor, and she told me to go to the TV (we were going to watch TV) while she "fixed something". She'd be coming after. Afterwards, the playthings were gone, and I never saw them again.
I know, when people you trust betray you, it is life, and it sucks.

Yeah, I see that now, and that is a very good way to put it. I just felt, reading through the thread, that there are quite an amount of people here who seem to blame the buyer, and that is wrong. The reason I blamed the owner (which I didn't actually do in my mind, but I see I wasn't careful enough in phrasing it), is that I, as the owner, would in most cases blame myself for not being careful enough.

And again, as I mentioned in both the reply to Taco and to you, I didn't really take many laws into consideration. I am not a law-major, nor will I ever be; I do not know all the laws that apply, and even fewer do I think about.
But as mentioned, I do recall something about you getting the money back from the insurance or something if you can show the police papers documenting that you bought something, and that it was stolen. I am not entirely sure I heard right or that it's true, but judging from all the other insurance laws we have, it's probable enough.

 

If you have your item insured, then you might be able to recoup the money that way. Personally I would rather have my doll back than the insurance money. Whether or not someone can get the insurance money for the doll, it was still stolen and not yours to keep. Not keeping stolen goods is a pretty common law.

About reputation -- the reason why that can matter is because a lot of transactions happen within the community. The second hand market basically works off of trust. If you can't trust the people you are potentially entering into a transaction with, well I'm sure you can see the difficulty there. I personally don't get to uptight about what people think of my taste in things, likes, dislikes etc. But when it comes to whether or not I am perceived as trustworthy, well, that's a different situation -- one that also plays out in other aspects of life too.

But if you're not going to just hand it over, what are you going to do with it? There's really only two choices. One is right and one is wrong.

I didn't say that at all. Yes there are two victims. However, victim 1 (the original owner) is not responsible for victim 2's (the buyer) bad luck at having purchased stolen property. It's not victim 1's responsibility to make sure there is some kind of financial restitution for victim 2. I don't blame the buyer at all. However, that does not mean that the buyer has the right to keep the doll or expect money for its return. The idea that victim 2 could end up losing out is genuinely too bad. Really, I mean that. However, things don't always work out in a way that is ideal, and there is always a good chance that the buyer will lose money in this kind of situation.

That assumes that everyone's situation is the same. That everyone in your life and that has access to your things is trustworthy. That no one will grab something you are carrying and run. That the one second you turn around ... etc, etc, etc. Not everyone is so lucky. No matter how many precautions a person takes, you can't remove all risk. Don't think that because some blame might fall on you, that it automatically lands on everyone else too. I'm sure that many people would rather have their beloved doll back than the insurance money. No matter if they had a careless moment or not, no matter whether insurance covered the doll or not the doll is not yours to keep. Period. The end. There is no ethical or legal way that it is ok to keep the doll just because you stand to lose money when it was never yours to begin with. It does not take a law student to realize this.

Because I don't want to commit a crime by keeping stolen property. Because I don't want to help a thief get away with a crime, because speaking up means having to give the doll back. Because if one of my dolls were stolen, I hope someone would do the same for me. No not everyone does the right thing, but that's not an excuse to do something that is so ethically off base. And complaining that things are unfair and then acting in away that adds to the unfairness in the world is grossly hypocritical.

You can have your own source of justice, but if it stands so far apart from what is lawful and acceptable by society, what is it really? If you would pay the cost, then that is very kind of you. You are not obligated to do so, which means neither are other people.

There are two victims and the one at fault is the thief. The way to end the situation really happily is to be able to get the money back from him/her. Saying that the actual owner of the doll owes you something doesn't make sense if they are truly a victim too. They don't owe you anything, because they are not responsible for you losing your money. What about this is so difficult to understand?

ETA: If I come off as a hard ass about this, it's because I find it disturbing that so many people would actually seriously consider keeping the doll or demanding some kind of payment from the actual owner -- it suggests a lack of trustworthyness in a hobby that involves not only expensive items, but items that tend to have a lot of personal meaning and sentimental value to their owners. I would be crushed if one of my dolls was stolen and be horrified if the buyer basically held it for ransom so they could make sure they get their money back -- or feel that it was somehow ok to keep my doll who I worked on and have an attachment to just because there is a chance I could get insurance money back. Really. People, please think harder about what you are saying.